It’s a fact of life that humans make mistakes. Many mistakes help us learn and grow as individuals, and some say mistakes even make us who we are. But when it comes to manufacturing, mistakes can mean frustration, high cost and the wasting of time and valuable resources. In industries such as automotive or medical devices, production mistakes could even put lives in danger.
Understanding that mistakes are inevitable is an important step in building quality into manufacturing processes. Shigeo Shingo, renowned authority on quality control and efficiency, made an important distinction between mistakes and defects: mistakes will happen. Defects result from allowing those mistakes to reach the end consumer.
But even if defects are discovered upon final inspection, the solution still tends to include costly and time-consuming reworking. At ALTEX, we ensure our lean, cost-effective processes work right the first time through the use of poka-yoke fixturing. This process takes human error into account and prevents mistakes at the source.
Poka-yoke fixturing does not allow a process to begin or continue if an error has occurred. One way we do this is to create a fixture that only allows a part to be inserted the correct way. For example, Ethernet plugs can only be inserted into a computer if they are facing the correct way. Fail-proof mechanisms at various stages of the manufacturing process ensure correct assembly and guarantee quality.
The bulk of manufacturing defects are caused by human error, and more importantly, are completely preventable. Our new solution brief discusses the top 6 manufacturing errors, and how to prevent them using a poka-yoke fixturing system. Find out how using preventative quality control processes – such as poka-yoke fixturing – saves time, stress, money and causes for customer dissatisfaction. Download the free solution brief.
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